Recruit Me: Robinson's Stanton a Duke

Signed with James Madison University, senior defensive end Jordan Stanton had 83 tackles and four sacks last fall for Robinson’s football team. “I needed to take care of high school first,” he said of the whole recruiting process.

Mark Bendorf has coached multiple sports in Fairfax County for 20-plus years. Currently, he’s in charge of Robinson’s football program, a perennial powerhouse when it comes to sending athletes on to continue their careers at the college level.

Jordan Stanton, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end for Bendorf’s Rams, has signed with James Madison University. Despite attending one-day camps at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, Stanton, who benefits from impressive, measurable numbers such as his bench press (310) and 40-yard dash time (4.7 seconds), was eventually plucked away by the Dukes.

Before signing, Stanton analyzed James Madison’s depth chart, its defensive system and evaluated his future coaches’ personalities. Not only that, he put a strong emphasis on academics and the quality of the facilities where he would spend the bulk of his next four or five years.

“We didn’t hit the panic button,” Stanton said.

Stanton kept a positive outlook on the whole process, which, for better or worse these days, is becoming harder and harder to do.

“You have to put college in your mind, but you also have high school to deal with, too,” Stanton said. “Because if you mess that up, you mess everything up.”